Canon Unveils the EOS M2 with Twice the Focusing Speed, May Not Come to the US

Canon’s first mirrorless camera, the EOS M, received mixed reviews when it first hit the market, mainly because of its slow autofocus. Canon is hoping to address those concerns with the newly-announced EOS M2, but it looks like this one might not even make it to the US or Europe.

The camera giant’s first foray into the mirrorless market came last year with the EOS M, and while image quality impressed reviewers, the camera’s underwhelming AF system doomed it to less-than-stellar sales in a mirrorless ILC market that was pretty well stacked.

Now, Canon Japan and China have both announced the arrival of the EOS M2 and, although the design remains mostly unchanged, it looks like the internals got a few significant boosts.

First off, both of the major issues with the EOS M — those being: the sluggish AF and the fact that the screen blacked out when you took a picture — have been addressed. The camera now boasts Canon’s Hybrid CMOS AF II, which promises a 2.3x improvement in AF speed, and the blackout issue is gone despite the fact that the 18MP APS-C sensor inside the EOS M2 is unchanged from its predecessor.

Other notable features include the addition of built-in WiFi for wireless sharing and image transfer and AF Servo mode when shooting video.

The final piece of news that might be troubling for Canon fans outside of Asia who were hoping to go mirrorless is that, at least for now, there seems to be no indication that this shooter will make it to the US or Europe.

According to Canon Rumors, “No retailer has contacted us about preorders, there is no press release from Canon USA or Canon UK, and my contact at Canon Canada didn’t even know the camera was coming.” All of this, along with the fact that the EF-M 11-22 IS STM lens announced earlier this year never made it stateside either, points to an Asia-only release.

If you do happen to live in Japan, you’ll be able to pick up the EOS M2 starting later this month for 84,800 yen (about $ 820) with a kit lens or 64,800 yen (about $ 630) for the body only. Check out the Canon Japan or China press releases for more details.